How Do I Make My Home Attractive to Buyers?

The most important thing you can do to speed a sale is to price your home right. After all, buyers have access to the same market data you do. If your asking price is out of whack for the neighborhood, they’ll move on to the house next door.

After that, it’s important to make your home shine. That doesn’t mean you have to drop a ton of money on professional staging. Outside, tidy up the front yard, pressure-wash the deck, and repaint the front door. Swap out dated fixtures. Agent and Zillow blogger Brendon DeSimone suggests checking our your address on Google Map’s street view to see what the buyer sees.

Inside, a thorough cleaning and decluttering pay the biggest dividends. Eliminate pet and smoking odors. If your tastes tend toward the outré, consult with your agent about whether repainting bright walls or replacing loud carpets is worth the money. Experts generally recommend neutral colors, because they don’t distract from buyers’ ability to see themselves in your home.

Need more input? A two-hour consultation with a professional stager can yield helpful paint and lighting recommendations, as well as suggestions for how to arrange furniture. Typical cost: $150 to $400, according to contractor referral site Fixr.com.

Another potential way to encourage a sale is to have the home inspected before you even put it on the market. Not only will you head off trouble at the pass, you can share a good report (or highlight fixes) with prospective buyers.

Once you’ve done all that, get the maximum exposure for your home by asking your agent to post it on Craigslist in addition to major real estate websites. Many savvy sellers also create videos to accompany the listing or share on YouTube.